Sunday, December 16, 2012

Declassified CIA memo: Pollard passed information to Israel on Arab countries, not on US

Jonathan Pollard committed a crime for which he has more than paid. Until now, most of us thought that crime was passing classified information about the United States to its ally, Israel. Now, a declassified CIA memo indicates that the information that Pollard passed along had nothing to do with the United States. It was information about Arab countries. In fact, Pollard's handler told him to ignore requests for information about the United States, which he did. So why is he still imprisoned after all these years? What does Pollard now that requires treating him more harshly than Aldrich Ames?

The damage assessment, which was classified by the CIA and only released today–though still heavily redacted– on appeal by the National Security Archive
at George Washington University reveals that Pollard’s handlers “never
expressed interest in US military activities, plans, capabilities, or
equipment.”

The damage assessment further details the specific information
requested of Pollard: Syrian drones and central communications,
Egyptian missile programs and Soviet air defenses. The document also
describes how Pollard’s handler told him to ignore a request from his
bosses for U.S. “dirt” on senior Israeli officials.

According to the article on the NSA’s website the documents Pollard
passed along revealed information on “PLO headquarters in Tunisia;
specific capabilities of Tunisian and Libyan air defense systems; Iraqi
and Syrian chemical warfare productions capabilities (including
detailed satellite imagery); Soviet arms shipments to Syria and other
Arab states; naval forces, port facilities, and lines of
communication of various Middle Eastern and North African countries;
the MiG-29 fighter; and Pakistan’s nuclear program. Also included was a
U.S. assessment of Israeli military capabilities.”

The damage assessment also paints a broader picture of Pollard the
man, who at the time of his arrest was working as a civilian
intelligence analyst.

A detailed 21-page chronology of Pollard’s personal life and
professional career, including his work for the Israelis,
highlights over a dozen instances of unusual behavior by Pollard that
the CIA suggests in hindsight should have alerted his supervisors to
the fact the he was a security risk. One such instance occurred when,
upon arriving late for an interview, he gave his excuse that he
spent the weekend rescuing his wife from the Irish Republican Army
after they had kidnapped her.

This is the man that the US considers so 'dangerous' that he's been locked up for the last 27 years and is intended to be locked up for life?

Not true, southcentralpa. That hasn't stopped freeing the spies who spied for China or Soviet Union (later, Russia). Only reason why Pollard has been kept this long (compared to all those other spies, who actually harmed USA) has to do with antisemitism.

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I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 12 to 33 years and eight grandchildren. Three of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com